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Tourism '  la carte

July 25, 2003

Italian actor Roberto Benigni once sarcastically described tourists as "a swarm of locusts on wheels". And it's true that tourism, besides being an important source of revenue for many regions, also causes pro-blems: The number of visitors is unevenly spread over the year, usually concentrated on the few months of summer. For instance, the Chiemsee region of Bavaria typically receives about three million overnight visitors per year - of which 60 percent fall in the four months from June to September. The communities close to the lakeside are most affected by the temporary increase in population. The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML was therefore commissioned by the regional government to look into ways of improving the distri-bution of visitors over the year and throughout the area.

The researchers started by analyzing the regional visitor statistics. "We established the peaks in volume and correlated them with the capacity of the existing infrastructure," relates Thomas Rauh from the IML project center in Prien. His team developed the idea of the "Chiemsee card", as a means of diverting visitors away from heavily frequented locations. Although the card system has not yet been launched, owing to lack of funds on the part of the local councils, it will allow visitors to collect bonus points for each visit to a museum or bathing resort, or each ferry ride across the lake. Once they have amassed a certain number of points, they can exchange them for free gifts, such as tickets to an exclusive concert in Schloss Herrenchiemsee. To encourage visitors to venture more widely through the region, higher points are awarded for places away from the lakeside than for the more popular tourist venues. And more points are awarded in the low season than during the main vacation period. "The aim of this incentive is to even out seasonal differences," remarks Rauh. "The events must be carefully chosen, bearing in mind that senior citizens are less restricted to the peak vacation season than families with children."

In addition to alleviating the logistics problem, the card can also be used as a marketing tool. Local communities may evaluate and re-inforce visitors' loyalty to the region, identify their preferences, and adapt service offerings accordingly. It may even allow them to identify completely new target groups. "The system costs somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 euros, depending on its complexity. But the investment can be amortized in just two years," states Rauh. "We eventually hope to be able to interest other regions in this idea."

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft